ACH secures state berth Wednesday

Nov. 6—COULEE CITY — The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors had a successful Wednesday afternoon as they earned a 3-0 victory over Walla Walla Valley Academy and a 3-1 victory over Garfield-Palouse. With these victories, the Warriors not only took fifth in District 6 but secured a spot in the state tournament. "There's just lots of excitement," said Warriors Head Coach Katie Walsh. "I've told them all season long that if we just keep working hard that the W's will come. We are peaking at the right time and I still think that there's more to come." Walsh said the journey to this point started last Thursday at the Northeast 1B league tournament. ACH entered as the fourth seed in the south which placed them against the number one seeded Northport from the north where they fell 3-2 in a competitive game. "We went up there, fought pretty hard, but didn't have our most consistent game and ended up losing in the fifth set by two," said the coach. From there, the Warriors went on a run to claim 3-0 victories over Cusick, Wilber-Creston-Keller and ultimately Northport at the end of the bracket for the third seed in the league. "That was a great feeling and we were positive and had good vibes going into our games (Wednesday)," said Walsh. The Warriors had a strong opening game for the District 6 tournament against Walla Walla Wednesday afternoon. The first set started close with ACH taking a 25-21 win and each following set, the Warriors increased their margin winning by 25-19 and 25-18. Against Walla Walla, Abbi Edwards and Grace Okamoto each earned three aces with Dani Isaac leading the team with 16 assists. Allie Edwards had seven kills throughout the game, Hannah Brummett earned one block and Okamoto had 39 digs. The win over Walla Walla automatically qualified ACH for the state tournament. "We played really quality volleyball against Walla Walla Valley Academy," said Walsh. "Great rallies, back and forth play. We were able to beat them in three sets and then had an opportunity to beat the defending state champs Garfield-Palouse." ACH then faced a tough Garfield-Palouse team and the girls didn't take the assignment lightly. The Warriors started out with a 25-17 victory over Gar-Pal, but the opposition proved their strength as the second set went in Gar-Pal's favor 26-24. The following two sets remained close, but the Warriors claimed 25-23 and 25-20 victories to claim victory and earn fifth place in District 6. Against Garfield-Palouse, the Warriors had Edwards, Okamoto and Savannah Monson take two aces each with Edwards and Isaak tying at 16 assists. Shay Kast led the team with 11 kills, Edwards had seven blocks and Okamoto once again earned 39 digs. "The girls found a way to be consistent when it mattered most and they were pretty excited after those games (Wednesday), punching those tickets to state," said Walsh. This success has been building throughout this season, the coach said. ACH had a hard regular season as they came close with a lot of quality teams but struggled to secure the win and now the girls are finding ways to claim those victories when it matters most. "The fruits of their labor are now here and we're not done," she said. ACH's ability to work together as a unit to create success on the court has been integral to their growth and success this season. This has been done through strong senior leadership from Madison Brink, Grace Okamoto, Dani Isaak and Josie Bayless. Walsh said she also intentionally will create bonding opportunities for the girls through scavenger hunts, team dinners or even on one occasion having the girls create their own music videos. While those create fun moments for the girls, she emphasized what's most important is building the "team over me" mentality across their deep talent on the roster. "It is a total team effort on the floor and the girls know it," said the coach. "They really build each other up and hold each other up. If girls aren't having their best game, it's okay, we have other options and we also have other players that step in. It's something that we emphasize from day one and this year especially for our team, it's been something that has been seen." With less than a week until the state tournament, she said the Warriors know there is still more work to do. Over the next few days there are still parts of the game ACH will refine. The coach said a lot of the reflection comes back to the players as she will ask them where they feel there is room for improvement after each game. She also said the girls are showing signs that they have that hunger to improve and now it's just about putting in the last bit of work before the tournament. "It's fun to see at this point in the season when it's been a long season, that the girls are still eager and ready to put in the work," said Walsh. "That's been the message all year, outwork the other team. I 100% think we can outwork any team that we come across and sometimes that effort and that heart to lay it all out there is what's going to distinguish us from teams that might have more skilled players overall." The Warriors will begin their run through state November 11. Exact start times were unavailable at the time of press but will be updated as they are revealed. BOX SCORES GAME ONE: WWVA: 21-19-18: 0 ACHW: 25-25-25: 3 GAME TWO: GRPL: 17-26-23-20: 1 ACHW: 25-24-25-25: 3